Strokes may be caused by a disruption of blood flow to the brain, for example, due to a clot or a leak in a blood vessel that supplies the brain with blood. This disruption of blood flow deprives brain tissue of oxygen, often resulting in localized death of brain tissue (focal infarction) and thus permanent damage to the brain.
Changes in the ion flux into neurons may lead to the cell death produced by stroke. Accordingly, various ion channels may be candidates for mediating this altered ion flux, thus confounding the search for a suitable therapeutic target.